Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 3

Greetings chess players. My name is Chris Torres, and this is Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Game 3 Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen revisit the Ruy Lopez and produce a beautiful and well-constructed dance with no missteps. Their stunningly accurate game culminated in a draw after 41 moves.

Now, without further ado, let’s take a close look at game 3 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match!

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of round 3 from the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi. For more on the match please visit the official website at https://fideworldchampionship.com. Additionally, please take a moment to like this video and subscribe to my Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel. Finally, be sure to check out DailyChessMusings.com to find my notes to this video as well as thousands of other free learning resources. My name is Chris Torres, and I will see you Tuesday after their day off with a special presentation of round 4 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

Back to FIDE World Chess Championship 2021

Home

GAME3-EricRosen

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: INTERNATIONAL CHESS FEDERATION MEDIA RELATIONS DAVID LLADA PRESS@FIDE.COM +34 623021120

Press Officer

Jonathan Tisdall

press@fide.com

Metadata » Click to open.

Date: November 28, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 3
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: November 28, 2021
Tags: Catalan, Ian Nepomniachtchi, second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage, FIDE, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, Ruy Lopez, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, GAME3-EricRosen, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 2 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Chris Torres, Game 2, Daily Chess Musings, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, DailyChessMusings.com
Categories: FIDE Chess World Championship 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen, Daily Chess Musings

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.11.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Black "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [ECO "C88"] [Eco "C88"] { [ RUY LOPEZ,C88] Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +4 =1 -0 Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +3 =9 -1 } 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O { As in game 1, Magnus Carlsen is inviting his opponent to enter into the Marshall Attack with 7. c3. } 8.a4 { And as in game 1, Ian Nepomniachtchi avoids the Marshall but this time with a4 which is another popular anti-Marshall choice. } ( 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Bxf7+ Rxf7 10.Nxe5 Rf8 11.Qxd4 Bb7 12.Nc3 c5 13.Qd1 b4 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bd6 16.c4 bxc3 17.bxc3 a5 18.Nf3 Qf6 19.Bg5 Qg6 20.Be7 Bxe7 21.Rxe7 Qd6 22.Qe2 Bxd5 23.Rd1 Rab8 24.Ne1 Qc6 25.Qe5 Bf7 26.Rdxd7 Rfe8 27.Qf4 Qf6 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Qd2 Qe6 30.Rd8 h6 31.Rxe8+ Qxe8 32.a3 Qa4 33.Qc1 Bg6 34.Nf3 Qb3 35.Ne5 Bc2 36.Ng4 a4 37.h3 Bf5 38.Ne5 Kh7 39.Kh2 Qa2 40.Kg1 Kg8 41.Qf4 Qxa3 42.Qxf5 Qxc3 43.Nc6 Kh8 44.Qf7 Qb3 45.Qe8+ Kh7 46.Qe4+ Kh8 47.Na5 Qd1+ { ...1-0, Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) 2773 - Aronian Levon (ARM) 2772 , Moscow 5/17/2019 It \"FIDE Grand Prix\" } ) 8...Bb7 { black reacts to the threat of axb5. This flexible idea completes the development of Ian's pieces and helps him secure his position on the queenside. 8...Rb8 unnecessarily cedes control of the a-file. 8... b4 is another possibilty... } ( 8...b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 dxe5 12.Qe2 a5 13.Nd2 Bc5 14.Nf3 Qe7 15.Be3 Ba6 16.Bxc5 Qxc5 17.Qe3 Qxe3 18.Rxe3 Rfe8 19.c3 Ng4 20.Ng5 Nxe3 21.Bxf7+ Kf8 22.Bxe8 Rxe8 23.fxe3 bxc3 24.bxc3 h6 25.Nf3 Bd3 26.Rd1 Bxe4 27.Rd7 Re7 28.Rd8+ Kf7 29.Nd2 Bc6 30.Nc4 Ke6 31.Nxa5 Bxa4 32.Nb7 Re8 33.Nc5+ Kf6 34.Rxe8 { 1/2-1/2, Karjakin Sergey (RUS) 2760 - Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2839 , Wijk aan Zee 1/28/2018 It \"Tata Steel\" (cat.20) } ) 9.d3 { With Carlsen's bishop is on b7, Nepo restricts its range of action by playing d2-d3. Now the complicated maneuvering can begin. Part of this maneuvering usually involves Later, Black transfering the moving their bishop back to c8 with a loss of tempi in order to increase its activity } 9...d6 10.Nbd2 { Ian begins his queen's knight journey along the usual Spanish route d2-f1-g3. } 10...Re8 { An flexible plan - Magnus abstains from defining the pawn configuration on the queenside for the time being and instead begins the thematic maneuver Re8 and Bf8 which increases the overall flexibility of his position. } ( 10...Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nf1 bxa4 13.Ne3 Bc6 14.Nh4 Bd7 15.Nhf5 Rb8 16.Qf3 Kh8 17.Qg3 Nh5 18.Qg4 g6 19.Qf3 Nc6 20.c3 Nf4 21.Nxe7 Qxe7 22.Nd5 Nxd5 23.Bxd5 f6 24.Qg3 Rb6 25.f4 exf4 26.Bxf4 Ne5 27.d4 g5 28.Bc1 cxd4 29.cxd4 Ng6 30.Qf2 Bc6 31.Be6 Rb4 32.Bf5 Nh4 33.d5 Bb5 34.Ra3 { 1/2-1/2, Caruana Fabiano (ITA) 2801 - Tomashevsky Evgeny (RUS) 2701 , Baku 10/14/2014 It \"FIDE Grand Prix\" (cat.20) } ) ( 10...Nd7 11.axb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Qxa8 13.c3 Nc5 14.Bc2 b4 15.d4 bxc3 16.bxc3 Nd7 17.Nc4 Qa1 18.Bd2 Qxd1 19.Rxd1 Ra8 20.Rb1 Bc8 21.h3 Bf6 22.Be3 h6 23.Bb3 Rb8 24.Bc2 Rxb1+ 25.Bxb1 Ba6 26.dxe5 Ndxe5 27.Ncxe5 Nxe5 28.Nxe5 Bxe5 29.Bd2 g5 30.g3 Kg7 31.f4 gxf4 32.gxf4 Bf6 33.Bc2 Bh4 34.Kg2 Bb7 35.Kf1 Ba6+ 36.Kg2 Bc4 37.Ba4 f5 38.Bc6 fxe4 39.Bxe4 Kf6 40.Be3 Be1 41.Bd4+ Kf7 42.Kf3 c5 43.Bh8 Bh4 44.Bh7 Bd8 45.Kg3 h5 46.h4 Be2 47.Kf2 Bg4 48.Kg3 Be6 49.f5 Bc4 50.Kh3 { ...1/2-1/2, Grandelius Nils (SWE) 2681 - Giri Anish (NED) 2776 , Batumi 10/31/2019 Ch Europe (team) } ) 11.Nf1 { As expected. } 11...h6 { Stops white's knight from doubling up on the weak f7 pawn by moving to g5. } 12.Bd2 { Ian prepares for lively play on the queenside while saving tempi on the Nf1-e3 maneuver. } 12...Bf8 { A nice little move that increses black's king safety while giving the rook on e8 more authority in the e-file. } 13.Ne3 { From e3, Ian's knight has access to the d5 or f5 outposts. } 13...Ne7 { And Carlsen immediately shuts down both outposts for the e3 knight. } 14.c4 { Nepo plays a nice pawn break which doubles the pressure on b5. } 14...bxc4 15.Nxc4 { with its earlier plans foiled, Ian's knight recaptures on c4 with dreams of jumping to a5. } 15...Nc6 { For the second time in this game, Carlsen uses his knight to stop Ian's. } ( 15...Rb8 16.Ncxe5 dxe5 17.Nxe5 Kh7 18.Bxf7 Qd6 19.Bc3 Red8 20.Bc4 Nc6 21.Nf7 Qe7 22.d4 g6 23.Nxd8 Rxd8 24.Qb3 Ba8 25.Rad1 Bg7 26.Qc2 Nh5 27.d5 Ne5 28.Bxa6 Qd6 29.Bf1 Rf8 30.h3 Bb7 31.Bd4 Rf7 32.Re3 Bc8 33.Rc3 Nf4 34.Bc5 Qf6 35.d6 Qg5 36.Rg3 Qh5 37.Be3 Ne6 38.Rd5 Bb7 39.Rb5 cxd6 40.f4 Nc6 41.Rxh5 { 1-0, Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan (SCO) 2451 - Yildiz Betul (TUR) 2021 , Rijeka 3/ 6/2010 Ch Europe (w) } ) 16.Rc1 { Ian places a rook on the semi-open file. } 16...a5 { And now Carlsen adds another defender to the a5 square while setting up another possible outpost for his c6 knight. } 17.Bc3 { Nepo plays a nice dual purpose move. After Bishop c3, he can now add another attacker on a5 with Qd2 or push the d3 pawn to d4. } 17...Bc8 { Defends against the threat of Qd2 on a5. How? Let me show you... } 18.d4 { With Qd2 off the table, Ian plays the d4 pawn break which will open up some tactical lines. } ( 18.Qd2 Be6 19.Bxa5 Qb8 20.Qc3 Qa7 21.Bb4 Nxb4 22.Qxb4 d5 23.Qc3 dxc4 24.Bxc4 Bc5 25.Re2 Bd4 26.Qb4 c5 27.Qb3 Bxc4 28.Rxc4 { Is eaily winning for black. } ) 18...exd4 19.Nxd4 Nxd4 20.Qxd4 { Remember how Carlsen played 12... Bf8? Well now we clearly see why. His bishop is defending against mate threats on g7 while his rook and knight are tag teaming on the e4 pawn. } 20...Be6 { and Carlsen goes on with his Be6 idea which is still nice as it pins the c4 knight to white's bishop on b3. } 21.h3 { h3 controls g4 and creates a luft. Plus, its definately preferable to Nxa5 which... } ( 21.Nxa5 { ? } 21...c5 { Carlsen would have had this neat little tactic. } 22.Qd2 Bxb3 23.e5 Bxa4 24.exf6 g6 25.Rxe8 Qxe8 { Is exciting but favors black. } ) 21...c6 { Carlsen is preparing his own pawn break with d5. } 22.Bc2 { Allows d5 to be met with e5 since after the d5 pawn takes on c4 it won't also be attacking the bishop on b3. } 22...d5 23.e5 ( 23.exd5 Nxd5 { and again we see the importance of Carlsen's earlier Bf8 move. } 24.Qe4 { but the white queen can move and threaten mate. } 24...f5 { which is stopped with f5. } 25.Qd3 Nxc3 26.bxc3 Qg5 27.Nb6 Rad8 28.Qf3 Bf7 29.Qxf5 Qxf5 30.Bxf5 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 { Would have resulted in an endgame with even chances. } ) 23...dxc4 { and again, this is why it was so important for Ian to have played 22. Bc2. } ( 23...c5 { is another move of obvious interest. } 24.Qd3 dxc4 25.Qxd8 Rexd8 26.exf6 gxf6 27.Be4 Ra6 28.Bxf6 { but ends up favoring white. } ) 24.Qxd8 { So the queens are exchanged. } 24...Rexd8 25.exf6 Bb4 { Carlsen would enjoy fixing his pawns structure if Nepo trades bishops. } 26.fxg7 { But, of course, Nepo plays fxg7 making all of black's pawns isolated. } 26...Bxc3 { So Carlsen returns the favor on the queenside. } 27.bxc3 Kxg7 { and then immediately activates his king. } 28.Kf1 { Nepo inches his king closer to the action as well. } 28...Rab8 { With no passed pawns, the rooks belong in open files. } 29.Rb1 Kf6 { Carlsen's king placement is much better than Ians but Nepo has a better pawn structure. } 30.Rxb8 { This pulls Carlsen's other rook out of the open d-file. } 30...Rxb8 31.Rb1 Rxb1+ { Any other move would favor white. } 32.Bxb1 Ke5 { Carlsen's fantastic king placement makes up for his swiss cheese pawns. } 33.Ke2 f5 34.Bc2 f4 { and now white will not be able to force black's king from its powerful post. } 35.Bb1 c5 36.Bc2 Bd7 { Carlsen is making white's bishop play pawn defender. } 37.f3 Kf6 38.h4 Ke5 39.Kf2 Kf6 40.Ke2 Ke5 41.Kf2 { and a stunningly accurate game 3 ends in a draw. } 1/2-1/2